A perspective on life from the outgoing wallflower

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It’s been a quiet week for this introvert. I had to work between Christmas and New Year’s, so on the 26th, my hubby packed up the boys and headed to Texas for the week. I’m looking forward to them being home tomorrow; I’ve enjoyed the quiet, but I’ve missed them, and I hated not being able to go. I miss all the family they got to spend time with this past week!

1. The empty house brought reality TV with it –

I stumbled upon an American gypsy wedding show. This is a thing?!?! The gypsies even go to a woman who makes her living specializing in GYPSY wedding dresses, which show LOTS of cleavage, LOTS of sparkles and those skirts are maybe 8 to 10 feet across in diameter.

So on this particular episode, the engaged couple had broken up at some point. To win her back, Prince Charming tattooed his gypsy princess’ face on his back. Life-sized. Her likeness coordinated well with the lipstick kiss tattoo on his neck. On the other episode, (okay, so I watched two) an irate mother of the groom showed up to the wedding in her finest Dallas Cowboy pajamas (tops AND bottoms) yelling obscenities at everyone and battering people with her cane.

I followed reality TV with the New York Times crossword puzzle and some calculus to hopefully revive the brain cells that were dying a slow and agonizing death.

2. And a couple of movies.

So with all the testosterone emptied from my house, this week was supposed to be my week to catch up on girl stuff, especially the hubby-despised “chick flicks” To clarify, Scientist has a broad definition of “chick flick”. To him, a chick flick is romantic drama, romantic comedy, anything filmed in black and white, anything subtitled, or anything he would otherwise label as “artsy”. The Royal Tenenbaums (artsy) was first on my list. I loved Grand Budapest Hotel (also artsy) and coworkers told me I would therefore love The Royal Tenenbaums. I liked the beginning, but it dragged on too long. As much as I’d love to gush about it, I’d have to give it a “meh” rating. I had hoped to give The Darjeeling Limited a try, but it’s not out as a rental yet.

I also watched You’ve Got Mail. I’m always a sucker for that film because it combines humor, romance, and books. It is based on Jimmy Stewart’s The Shop Around the Corner, set in a retail shop during pre-WWII Budapest. If you like You’ve Got Mail, try The Shop Around the Corner, it’s charming!

3. Boys’ clothes –

Clothing designers must think all boys are into skulls and must therefore enjoy them year-round. I went shopping for some winter clothes for the boys today. Last I checked, it’s January, not October, yet sweatshirts, pajamas, oxford shirts, tee shirts, underwear, socks, gloves, hats, even ties are all emblazoned with a variety of skulls: flaming skulls, smiling skulls, oozing skulls, glowing skulls, skulls with snakes or wolves, even some cute and friendly skulls. Here’s a heads up – my boys aren’t impressed with skulls, not even at Halloween. Nor do they like the equally prevalent dirt bike/motorcycle themes forced upon them. Boys’ clothing designers must be members of Hell’s Angels.

4. Thank you notes –

I’m REALLY good at requiring my kids to write them. I really SUCK at then sending them out. I came across some handmade thank you notes that my thirteen-year-old diligently created as mandated by Mom. Apparently I am going to get those out this weekend, along with a couple of Hallmark Christmas cards that never went anywhere. So when you get a two-month old note in the mail from my son, that’s my bad. Winning! …Not.

5. Mobile phones –

As a Christmas present for our new teenager, we activated the iPhone 4 that he’s used as an iPod for the past several months. I’m in the process of finalizing the cell phone contract we will give him this weekend. There are so many considerations regarding photos, texts, emails, bullying, manners, etc. that our parents didn’t even have to think about. Once I finalize it, I will share a copy and my sources in case you want to have something in place with your kids, too. The internet is a powerful thing, y’all, and our kids can’t begin to comprehend the vastness of it. It’s our responsibility to help them navigate it safely.

6. The dreaded New Year’s resolutions –

Last year I renewed my resolution was not to make any resolutions. I’ve successfully maintained this resolution for the past few years, but I’ve decided to make 2015 the year of Me. I christened the year of Me on New Year’s Eve with a new sassy do. I must have lopped off 4-5 inches! The boys haven’t even seen it yet… until now!

Short and sassy!

The year of Me means some changes are necessary, so I reframed resolutions into goals. So far I’ve successfully upheld a few: daily Bible study, writing, walking the dog (rained today – boo), but a few others require long-term planning. (More to follow later. I promise it’s not going to be one of those bazillion ho-hum resolution posts – stay tuned!)

7. For Downton Abbey fans –

I’m excited that Downton Abbey returns Sunday night. In honor of its return, I’m posting part one of a two-part Downton Abbey spoof that a friend posted on Facebook (credit to Text Santa, ITV, participating cast and crew). Be sure to also catch part two. And George Clooney. That is all.